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.xxx domain to be given the green (red?) light

ICANN has overcome its delicate sensibilities to approve a domain exclusively for p0rn.

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Published: 25 Jun 2010

Last Updated: 31 Aug 2010

Ooo-err: after years of umming and ahing, ICANN, the US government body that oversees the internet, has finally given the green light to the .xxx domain suffix. Or should that be the red light? Either way, the new suffix will cater for web content of an ‘adult’ nature. The decision has been a long time in coming – it was initially proposed by internet registrar ICM in 2000, but back then, groups from within the Bush administration found the idea a little too radical for their sensibilities. Now, though, it seems the internet’s about to get sexier.

It’s good news for the internet’s 370m-or-so porn sites, which are finally getting official recognition – despite having been some of the original internet pioneers, leading the way in video and online payment systems. They haven’t exactly suffered, though: according to Internet Pornography Statistics (possibly an indication that some people have too much time on their hands), each second more than $3,000 is spent on porn, while 28,000 people are viewing it and 372 adult search terms are being typed into search engines.

Campaigners say the new suffix will help internet users distinguish between what is and isn’t a dirty website – making them easier to spot (although it doesn’t seem particularly challenging at the moment), and filter out. It will be one of a group of domains that require ‘sponsorship’ before you can register a website under it, which means your site will be required to meet the needs of a ‘defined community’. (Bad news for Trebor, the makers of XXX Extra Strong Mints, who might have had a nice little marketing opportunity there.)

Even without the help of confectioners, .xxx is already proving popular: ICM has about 110,000 pre-orders for the naughty suffix – although it’s keen to stress that it has ‘no affiliation, current or historic, with the adult entertainment industry’.

While ICANN busies itself with the necessary due diligence to approve the new domain, might we suggest cabinet minister Francis Maude, the minister tasked with axing 75% of government websites over the next few years, has a look at the commercial possibilities of relaunching them with the new domain. We can imagine the UKTI site, which is currently paying £11.78 per visitor, would see its efficiency levels rocket with the extra interested traffic…